illegal racing in Singapore.

Illegal street racing has been part of the singapore four wheel underground culture for longer than I can possibly remember. (Beyond that my lips are sealed) At first mods were mainly done on mom & pop Honda Civics, then this gave way to Nissan Skylines and now anything goes McClarens to full blown unplugged versions of Lambos. But the people who are part of this secret fraternity in this underground sport usually make it a fact of life to learn how to live dangerously, that’s to say, you chances of fingering them as a street racer is like finding a needle in a haystack, impossible to trace – but that is only to be expected, these people know how to manage risk and more importantly have the skills to get out of a tight hairpin without having to put others through unneccessary grief and problem. The problem these days seems to come from wannabe’s who really don’t have any idea what’s really in a bonnet of a car; neither do they know how to handle themselves when things start to get scary and hairy; These amatuers all seem to believe a car is just like any other car, when infact what they’re buying into is a rocket with four wheels – the worst thing these days is anyone who can just write a check for a couple of hundred thousand dollars can own such a high performance sports car or in this case a million dollar coffin – wonder no more why they are usually the one who cause fireballs and deaths all over Singapore.

I am a simple man. Who sees the world only in simple way. I hope what I say will not offend anyone, if I do, please feel free to move on to the next excellent blog. But I really don’t have any sympathy for show off’s who drive powerful cars into bollards or other people’s car and cause the death of innocent people – I think it is a good thing that they have departed this world, as the only cars they will be driving is boxy paper mache cars that can’t really do much damage to the spirit – when these seriously confused people die earlier; it will be better for all of us, as our world will be a better and safer place for our families, friends and loved one’s.

Carry on lah!

Darkness 2012

“Things can get into your head without you realizing it – you could be really just really interested in the sex life’s of others by watching them do their thing with a pair of binoculars – in no time, you will confuse their passion with your own sex life. This is how insidious the process is. That is how dangerous things will affect all of us – it is the same with an Italian sports car, new climbing kit or a titanium limited edition mountain bike – they all can perform wonderfully and they are blisteringly fast; but there is usually a bite to it, there has to be, something has to give when you can fly as if you have wings and fire is shooting out of your backside like a rocket- and most of the time, when the bite occurs the next thing you know, you are already flying – you pull the levers of control, they are connected to nothing – as when a man has not taken the trouble to prepare his mind to handle a dangerous thing; then it is very unlikely that he will ever develop a healthy respect for it, or for that matter try to even understand it beyond what it is skin-deep. But how can this, be? Open the bonnet of any street racing car and you will see three main set pieces, the engine block, controller and intake / remember all these can be tweaked beyond factory settings, all you need is a laptop computer and some black arts math. But the driver cannot be hacked. I can’t shove a usb into your asshole and download Arten Senna – so when a bloody fool who never ever once researched and studied this machine simply straps all that power on – usually, like alcohol it goes right up to his head – the experience can only be heigthened by a $1,000 per night rent a China ass sitting in this cockpit of certain death – now this man has power and an audience to show off too and he suddenly thinks he is in Monte Carlo de Plaza. This man suddenly feels emboldened and powerful, when infact, he’s really just like a man wrapped around to a rocket with a roll of duct tape – I think to own something is not nearly enough, to truly own it, one must know every component from the inside out and understand how it all fits together – only then can this thing, be it a stallion, sword or car have a soul and can truly become part of you, in the way a swordman’s regards his blade as an extension of his body. The accomplished swordsman always knows the absolute limits and strengths of his tool, so there is a heavenly balance as not only does this man who has bothered to understand things have the power to bring out the best in things and people, but he’s always in control. And control is everything – in this way, you can never find this man out of control. As he is always in control.

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Some years ago, my Dutch neighbor brought back a doberman pitcher – now this is no casual dog. I know as I’ve grown up around large breed dogs all my life. On a few occasions when the Dutch couple took their prized dog around the neighborhood. It didn’t take everyone very long to realize that the dog was out of control – despite the couple trying their best to restrain the dog whenever it lunged forward at a knot of kids who looked like shivering rabbits before this monster. They were not successful. So one of the elders in my neighborhood. A man who was a retired policeman politely suggested a muzzle, the uncle said, “this way even if he breaks out, the damage can be controlled.” But this Dutch man would not have any of this. Infact he suggested the ex-policeman should go and muzzle him. As the Dutch man believed his dogs has as much rights as any man. So that evening the neighborhood elders gathered in the house of the school teacher somewhere in Huanguan St. Beneath the swrill of cicada’s – one of the aunties lamented, “aiyoh, now even my grandchildren dare not take the shortcut to the path anymore.” Thereafter a Mr Chiam, a retiree who once worked in the Inland revenue remarked, “if we don’t act soon, then something terrible is going to happen. As these people don’t seem to have very good control over this dog. So what will happen one day if the dog gets out of hand? What use is the police after one of our grandchildren are mauled to death.”

Sitting in one corner, Mr Pang sipped his puer er and sighed, “we need to bring in a professional?” A chorus of aiyoh’s resonated from the half pengsan aunties – “you mean the dog whisperer?” Mr Pang’s demeanor had now hardened, “No, someone who can solve our problems. I know of such a man. A son plays their game. And I know he cycles around in Bukit Timah every Wednesday at 5.00 in the morning – for the right fee this man will be able to solve our problems and the best thing is he comes with the assurance of absolute confidentiality – mouth as tight as an oyster.”

How this was actually accomplished no one really knows – one morning the dutch couple were seen posting images of dog lost posters along the lamppost – enquires were made, dunno a la Singaporean style was the answer. And the dog was never seen again – as for the residents of Huanguan Ave, they were happiest

There are many legends about this big black dog, some kids imagine it was abducted by aliens to help them build a super species race of half alien and dog mercenaries to take over our planet – others have even claimed, it was part of some macabre secret ritual, as ropes were found just the day after the beast went missing. No one really knows, except maybe the man who slipped into darkness with a dog.